Menootnaboot; Hawick

Some of the things that Aitch and I would have liked to do turned out not to be an option for the one day we had together; the museum, for example, was closed for the winter and only due to open on March 1st... too late for us this trip! Then there are the lovely Wilton Gardens - but the weather really wasn't conducive. Anyhoo, we opted to spend a little more money into the local economy by, first, going across the road from the car park to buy some essentials (for me - hottie bottle, extra wet wipes, pegs...). Next was Lovat Mill to have a gander at a few artefacts and feel the magnificent cloths produced there. Aitch bought herself a lambswool scarf... and one for me (early b'day pressie). Over the Teviot on one of the many bridges and up to The Horse again, as Aitch wanted to make another cache entry. 

The Horse sits fondly in my memory. I mentioned Hawick has a special connection for me. An aunt and uncle farmed very nearby, and whenever we visited, our cousins would take us to different spots in town where we could play. In those days, half a century ago, we were able to climb on the monument to the 1514 defense of Hawick! Wouldn't get away with that now - although it is once a year a done thing during the Common Riding (again refer the link just given). Hawick is also where my maternal grandparents spent their final years, in a tiny, one-bedroom flat barely bigger than The Grey, after a lifetime of farming.

After the cache was done, we walked up the hill to a church for another cache count and round to check out the chargers in the O'Connell Street car park, where there were two EV chargers. Access would be okay for Grey, so mental note made. Back onto High Street and along to the Town Hall... Aitch was doing well with her cache finds!

The building certainly stands out... there had been earlier structures which may well have been a tad more gentle on the eye. But those Victorians, you know, they did like a bit of Gothica... Read more about this place on this link.

At this point, we were flagging a bit, and it was 1 pm. As we headed back over to the van for a sandwich lunch and hot cuppa, we went via the James Thomson bridge. Built in honour of a local poet and songwriter, who was also the founder of the Hawick Burns Club, which sits on the west side of the water. You can see more of that on the latest video, up on the channel now!

After lunch, we came back to the south end of High Street, where the ancient Tower House still stands, sort of, and there is a newer and more accessible monument to the 1514 Hornshole flag bearing. The Tower now holds display spaces for art and textiles in a museum format.

I even got to leave a little bit of me in the place - for there were baskets for knitters and crochets to have a go with a few stitches...

Leaving here, we made the decision to eat out once more - this time at the Heart of Hawick cafe, just beside the Tower Museum. We sat in window seats looking down on the gushing Slitrig Water, which joins the Teviot under the bridge. Baked potatoes that evening, and that was us done. 

We parted ways agreeing that there is much on offer in Hawick and it deserves a lot more attention from us. We will be back! Meanwhile, I had to get a charge and head off to Edinburgh on Thursday morning. The charge proved elusive once again, and I had to drive up to Selkirk to get a boost. Turned out good though, for this was what greeted me in the morning...